MAKKAH, 3 March 2004 — Foreign racketeers are being blamed for a water shortage in the Jabal Al-Noor neighborhood. Residents say efforts by the Ministry of Water and Electricity to solve their water problems are thwarted by the expatriate drivers of water trucks who want to keep prices high.
A report in Nadwa Arabic daily said homes in the hilly Jabal Al-Noor neighborhood are not connected to the mains and can only be supplied by water truck.
Water truck drivers raise the price of water from a standard SR80 to SR150 and more, the paper said.
Resident Ahmad Abdul Kareem put the blame squarely on the foreign drivers. “The first thing they ask us is the location of the house. Because we live in a mountainous area, if we tell them where we are the price suddenly goes up. We are forced to accept the price because they won’t budge.”
The owner of a water supplier also blamed foreigners. “The water market is mainly controlled by non-Saudis,” he said. “There is a fixed price limit of SR100 per truck. Anything above that is illegal. But prices are seasonal and can be determined by how hard it is to reach the house and how far it is,” he added.
The paper did not say why the area cannot be connected to the water mains.
